Brake-shoe



(No Model.)

- G. L. JEFFREY.

BRAKE SHOE.

No. 553,470. Patented Jan. 21, 1896.

iq INVENTOR .4 TTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES L. JEFFREY, OF JOHNSTOWN, PENNSYLYANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE JOHNSON COMPANY, OF LORAIN, OHIO.

BRAKE-SHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 553,470, dated January 21, 1896.

Application filed September 14, 1895. Serial No. 562,535. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES L. JEFFREY, of Johnstown, county of Cambria, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and use ful Improvement in Railway-Brakes, of which the following is a true and exact description, due reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to certain improvements in brakes for railway-cars, and has for its object to provide a brake-shoe which may be easily put upon the brake-head, simple in construction, and also having other advantages which will be hereinafter pointed out.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 shows the shoe and brake-head assembled together on the brake-beam. Fig. 2 shows the brakehe'ad without the shoe and separated from the brake-beam. Fig. 3 is a'view of the shoe by itself, and Fig. 4 is a section on line X X of Fig. 1.

In the drawings, 1 is the brake-beam which extends across the truck and carries a brakehead opposite each wheel.

2 is one of the brake-heads, which is secured to the brake-beam and affords a support for the shoe 3. This shoe 3 is the portion which engages the wheel and is therefore subject to great wear, and must be often replaced. It is desirable, therefore, that this shoe be so designed that the maximum amount of service be secured with the smallest amount of metal in the shoe, so that the scrap to be disposed of shall be as small as possible. It is also desirable that the shoes be interchangeable-that is, that the one shoe will fit any of the several brake-heads upon a truck-for if they are rights and lefts more or less confusion is apt to result. To secure these several points I construct my brake head and shoe as follows: The shoe, which has its concave surface formed to fit the surface of the wheel-that is, with a flat portion to engage the tread of the wheel and a groove to receive the fiangeis offset on the back, as is clearly shown in Fig. 4, so that there is about the same thickness of metal back of the bottom of the groove that there is back of the tread portion.

On each end of the shoe there is the head portion 4, so formed that there is a sort of this recess, the head portions 4 of the shoe overlapping it above and below, so that it cannot move longitudinally, and the offset 5 forming a shoulder against which it bears. To prevent it coming away from the shoulder, a key 6 is inserted in the brake-head. It will be seen that the offset 5 is so undercut that the head and shoe overlap each other. When the key 6 is driven tight this overlapping action serves to prevent the shoe from coming away from the head.

The head portions 4.- of the shoes being formed dovetailed, they also prevent the shoe from leaving the head. The shoe is thus so formed that it is only movable in one direction, and that is locked by the key 6. Even were the key 0 not used, the fact that the flange of the wheel is usually in the groove in the shoe would prevent the shoe from coming off sidewise. The key is, however, a safeguard which should be employed. It will also be seen that the heads 4 on each end of the shoe 3 are alike, so that a shoe which is upon one brake-head will fit the head upon the opposite end of the brake-beam by being turned upside down. Thus I avoid the necessity of right and left hand shoes.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to protect by Letters Patent, is

1. In a railway brake, a head having that portion against which the shoe fits formed with a longitudinal undercut oifset as described.

2. In a railway brake, a shoe having that portion which engages the head formed with a longitudinal undercut olfset as described.

3. In a railway brake, in combination, a brake head having that portion against which the shoe fits, formed with a longitudinal undercut oifset, and also having dovetailed ends, a shoe having a dovetailed recess adapted to receive the head, and also having a longitudinal undercut offset fitting that on the shoe, and a key inserted in the head and adapted to engage said shoe and retain it in position.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

I CHARLES L. JEFFREY.

Witnesses:

JNo. M. DORTCH, WARD RAYMOND. 

